The guilty verdicts and sentences issued in a Bahraini court today against 11 medical professionals are denounced. PHR calls on the government of Bahrain to set aside the verdicts and not carry out the sentences.

The Bahraini court must expunge all politically motivated charges against 20 Bahraini medical professionals convicted of occupying a hospital and overthrowing the regime. On Thursday, the medics will be sentenced in the High Court of Appeals.

The political upheaval of the recent Arab Spring has taken center stage in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet an alarming trend — the systematic attacks on medical professionals, facilities and patients — represents one of the most overlooked humanitarian issues and tactical threats facing people living in armed conflict and civil unrest say Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and Dr. Stephen N. Xenakis in an Op-Ed in The Hill.